Shoe sole with energy return plate

ABSTRACT

A shoe sole includes a sole body and a flexible heel member is connected to a bottom of a heel portion of the sole body and two support members are connected to two sides of an arch area of the sole body to support the wearer&#39;s plantar arch. A composite material plate is connected to the bottom of the sole body and extends toward the heel portion. The plate has two thinner ends and a thick middle portion.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a shoe sole that includes two side support members at two sides of the plantar arch, a flexible heel member at the heel and a composite material plate connected to the front end and extending toward the heel. The plate is transferring energy from the heel onto the forefoot to reduce the pressure on the wearer's foot, and requires less effort to walk during toe off stance.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

A conventional way of walking or jogging is to put the heel on the ground first and the sole, the ball of the foot, the transverse arch and the toes touches the ground in sequence. The load of the body could hurt the ankle joint and/or other parts of the foot. Although there are different types of shoe soles are developed to absorb the load applied to the joints of the wearer's foot, most of the shoe soles are simply made by soft material such as foam which can be deformed to reduce the pressure that applies to the joints. The conventional shoe soles are not satisfied because they lack to provide sufficient support to the foot.

The present invention intends to provide a shoe sole that includes two side support members at two sides of the plantar arch, a flexible heel member at the heel, and a composite material plate at a center of the front section of the shoe sole to efficiently transferring energy from the heel and also reduce the pressure applied to the foot.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a shoe sole that comprises a sole body with a flexible heel member connected to a bottom of a heel portion of the sole body and two support members are connected to two sides of an arch area of the sole body wherein the arch area is located corresponding to a plantar arch of wearer's foot. A composite material plate is connected to the bottom of the sole body and extends toward the heel portion. The plate has two thinner ends and a thick middle portion.

The primary object of the present invention is to provide a shoe sole that provides an energy return force to reduce pressures to the forefoot area, and requires less effort to walk during toe off stance.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a shoe sole that includes two support members to support the plantar arch of the foot. This will provide stability to both the medial and lateral columns of the rearfoot.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a shoe sole that has a flexible heel member to absorb the impact force when the heel touches the ground.

The present invention will become more obvious from the following description when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings which show, for purposes of illustration only, a preferred embodiment in accordance with the present invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a bottom perspective view of the shoe sole of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is an exploded view to show the shoe sole of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a bottom view of the shoe sole of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a cross sectional view to show the heel member and the support member of the shoe sole of the present invention, and

FIGS. 5 to 8 show four stages of a wearer that wears the shoe sole of the present invention to walk.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Referring to FIGS. 1 to 4, the shoe sole of the present invention is arranged on a top of the outsole 1 of a shoe and comprises a sole body 10 which is made by a flexible and soft material and a flexible heel member 13 is connected to a heel portion of the sole body 10. The heel member 13 includes a concavity which has a proper curvature for matching the wearer's heel and a rear end of the heel member 13 extends upward from an inside of the concavity about 10 to 15 degrees.

Two solid and stiff support members 12 are connected to two sides of an arch area of the sole body 10 wherein the arch area is located corresponding to a plantar arch of wearer's foot. The two support members 12 each have an L-shaped cross section including a horizontal portion and a vertical portion. The horizontal portion is attached to a bottom of the sole body 10 and the vertical portion is attached to a side of the sole body 10

An energy return plate 11 made by plastic-rubber composite material is connected to a bottom of the sole body 10 and extends toward the heel portion. The distal end of the bouncing plate 11 is located between the two support members 12. The bouncing plate 11 has two thinner ends and a thick middle portion. As shown in FIG. 6, the front end of the sole body 10 and the bouncing plate 11 curve upward for 14 to 20 degrees relative to the horizontal.

As shown in FIGS. 5 to 8, when the wearer walks, the heel member 13 first absorbs the load of the wearer's weight by deformation so as to protect the wearer's ankle and the support members 12 support the portion of plantar arch. When the heel is removed from the ground, as shown in FIG. 7, the foot is kept in balance by the solid and stiff support members 12 to avoid twist of the foot. When the ball of the foot touches the ground and the toes are bent as shown in FIG. 8, the plate 11 provides a support force to reduce the stress focus on the toes and assists the foot to easily lift upward.

The shoe sole of the present invention includes the heel member 13 to absorb the load when the foot first touches the ground and the support members 12 keep the foot from being twisted during walking, and the plate 11 provide a bouncing force to reduce the deformation of the toes and prevents the foot and the toes from over bending.

While we have shown and described the embodiment in accordance with the present invention, it should be clear to those skilled in the art that further embodiments may be made without departing from the scope of the present invention. 

1. A shoe sole comprising: a sole body and a flexible heel member connected to a heel portion of an bottom of the sole body, two support members connected to two sides of an arch area of the sole body wherein the arch area is adapted to be located corresponding to a plantar arch of wearer's foot, a composite material plate connected to the bottom of the sole body and extending toward the heel portion, the bouncing plate having two thinner ends and a thick middle portion.
 2. The sole as claimed in claim 1, wherein the front end of the sole body and the plate bends upward for 14 to 20 degrees relative to the horizontal.
 3. The sole as claimed in claim 1, wherein the two support members each have an L-shaped cross section including a horizontal portion and a vertical portion, the horizontal portion is attached to a bottom of the sole body and the vertical portion is attached to a side of the sole body. 